Wartburg's Yoder earns academic all-district honors

Wartburg College first baseman Drew Yoder, a Wellman native and 2009 graduate of Mid-Prairie High School, was recently named a Capital One/CoSIDA first-team academic all-district honoree for District Eight.

The accounting and business double major has a cumulative grade point average of 3.71 and was the only selection from the Iowa Conference.

?Drew has been an outstanding young man in our program,? Wartburg head coach Joel Holst said. ?He has been a four-year starter and two-year captain. He has shown tremendous character and leadership, and he has been a role model for all his teammates.?

Yoder?s batting average of .387 is the third-highest on the Wartburg squad, which clinched the regular-season conference title on Tuesday for the first time in four years and the 16

^th

time in the program?s history. The senior also has seven doubles, three triples, two home runs and 29 RBIs this season.

District Eight is composed of NCAA Division III institutions from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Canada. To qualify for the honor, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher, have reached sophomore athletic and academic status and be a starter or important reserve player. Yoder?s name will now be forwarded to the All-American ballot.